BUG BASH (Skeeball) - Issues with sound effects.. any schematic resources?

[acebh]

I recently purchased a BUG BASH skeeball game by Baytek Games and have a couple issues.  The "attraction mode" / background music plays, but when you knock down a target it produces static for the sound effect and also after you finish playing the 9th ball whatever sound effect represents the end of the game is also static.  I found a troubleshooting guide on Baytek's site but it doesn't have any schematics in it or anything really technical, just some general troubleshooting steps -- and seems like if it leads you to the Logic Unit they want you to have someone else service it.  They also have another manual that I was hoping was an operator manual with schematics but the link is broken so I've emailed them to have them fix it or send me via email -- no response yet.

Does anyone have any schematics for this game or know if Baytek produced any schematics for it?  They want to sell logic units for $800+ on their site.. no thanks.  Troubleshooting guide mentions if audio doesn't work to check continuity in cables, check how cables are hooked up, check speakers, volume potentiometer, etc... but I'm getting audio (background music).  Otherwise mentions could be sound card in Logic Unit.  I can create some static as I'm turning the volume knob so could be a bad pot for that issue --- but even as the game is playing music when the normal sound effects happen from knocking a target down it plays static then continues on playing the music, so doesn't seem like it should be a cable or the speakers.  At this point it seems like whatever circuit contains the chip with sound effects is at fault.

I haven't opened up the logic unit yet.. was hoping to see some schematics before I do that.

Any help is definitely appreciated!

-Wayne

[Kevin Mullins]

Wonder if it's a bad sound ROM..... since it seems like it's requesting the sound and registering the sound, but no actual sound.
Might try finding the sound ROM and just removing, cleaning and re-seating it.

Check out games like Bustin' Balloons, Basket Fever, etc - looks like the same setup, I think there is a generation 4 or 5 version, not sure which would help you.

[acebh]

Kevin-

That was my idea exactly.. might as well try the easy stuff first before thinking it's a bad component.  And it knows it has to play a sound, seems to play it for the duration that it's supposed to (tho i haven't found audio/video of a fully functional BUG BASH).. so would think it's interference, chip not sitting right or something messing with the voltage in that circuit.

Thank you so much for the manuals!!  That helps make it significantly easier to diagnose.

-Wayne

[acebh]

Yay!  I finally had some time to disconnect all the wires from the logic unit & could see the board sound board that connected via pin headers to JP1 wasn't fully seated.  One of the sound board roms wasn't fully seated either.  Pushed them both down, fired it up and low and behold sound effects work now!  Love it when it's that simple!

I spent Friday & Saturday ticked about trying to diagnose "no sound" on a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 arcade machine (Naomi system) and having seemingly killed the cart by simply removing it and putting it back in.  But fixed a computer motherboard from my aunt in the last 24 hrs that's been sitting around with 6 blown capacitors for almost a year... and now have sound working on Bug Bash!  At least some things are going right :-)

[Kevin Mullins]

Awesome !!

It is indeed always nice when it does turn out to be something that simple.
That's why I always start there. 

[RichSorr]

ah bug bash. I miss having those around. Definitely one of the better knock down alleys out there.